Orange County must pursue levee one step at a time

ENTERPRISE OPINIONS

Published
12:00 am CST, Friday, January 22, 2010

It is said that the way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. That's good advice for Orange County residents who are trying to get a levee to protect themselves from storm surges like the one brought by Hurricane Ike.

Jefferson County has such a levee, and it kept Ike's waters out. But it was built in the 1960s, when massive projects like that were cheaper and didn't face environmental hurdles.

Today, Orange County faces huge challenges for that kind of levee. If it happens, it will be in small increments.

Orange County commissioners took one of those steps this week. They applied for a $250,000 state grant to begin an engineering feasibility study for the project. If the county gets the grant, taxing entities in the county would have to put up $250,000 in matching funds.

That would be money well-spent. If the cost is spread out over several years among cities and the county and aided by state and federal funds, it just might be doable.